1. Technical Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates generally to pool, patio, and beach furniture, and more particularly, to a lounge chair having improved arm supporting features.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 3 are diagrams illustrating an arm rest for chairs, chaise lounges, and the like as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,166 issued Nov. 15, 1994 to Peggy Zegeer (“Zegeer”). FIGS. 1A and 1B are side and front elevational diagrams, respectively, illustrating a conventional chaise lounge with a back support and an arm rest in a first position. FIGS. 2A and 2B are side and front elevational diagrams, respectively, illustrating the conventional chaise lounge with the back support and the arm rest in a second position. FIG. 3 is a side diagram illustrating the conventional chaise lounge with the back support and the arm rest in a third position.
Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 3, a conventional chaise lounge 100 includes a U-shaped adjustable back support 110, a seat support 120, a U-shaped adjustable foot/leg support 130, and two arm rests 140. The back support 120 and the foot/leg support 130 are adjustable because they attach to the seat support 120 at the pivots 150. Through a familiar adjustment process, the pivots 150 may be used to position the back support 120 and the foot/leg support 130 at different angles relative to the seat support 120.
Two U-shaped leg supports 122 are attached to the seat support 120, and are pivotable with respect to the seat support 120. The leg supports 122 engage the surface (i.e., the patio, the deck, the beach, the pool apron, the ground) beneath the seat support 120, providing support for the entire chaise lounge 100. Body support material 160 extends vertically down the center of the chaise lounge 100, the support material 160 attached to the portions of the back support 110, seat support 120, and foot/leg support 130 that are approximately parallel to the underlying support surface.
The back support 110 includes a right side 110R and a left side 110L. Each arm rest 140 is attached to a corresponding one of the right side 110R and the left side 110L of the back support 110 by a securement device 142. Furthermore, each arm rest 140 includes a vertical brace 144.
In order to vertically adjust the position of the arm rest 140, the securement device 142 may be loosened to release its grip from the back support 110. The securement device 142, along with the attached arm rest 140, may then be moved to a different vertical position on the back support 110. For example, referring to FIG. 1A, the position A of the securement device 142 may be adjusted along the line CD, where the line CD runs longitudinally through the center of the securement device 142. Once the securement device 142 and arm rest 140 are in the desired position, the securement device 142 is tightened to maintain its new position on the back support 110.
The position of the armrests 140 may also be adjusted in two angular directions.
Referring to FIG. 1A, an angle Φ may be defined as the angle that the line AB makes with respect to the vertical plane that contains the line CD (In FIG. 1A, this is the plane of the paper). The line AB runs longitudinally through the armrest 140. For example, in FIGS. 1A and 1B the angle Φ is zero degrees and in FIGS. 2A and 2B the angle Φ is ninety degrees.
Following the same procedure that was described above for a vertical adjustment of the arm rest 140, the angle Φ may be adjusted. That is, the securement device 142 may be loosened to release its grip from the back support 110. The securement device 142, along with the attached arm rest 140, may then be rotated about the line CD to the desired position and retightened to maintain the desire position.
Referring to FIG. 1A, the angle θ may be defined as the angle between the line CD and the line AB that runs longitudinally through the armrest 140. For example, FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 3 illustrate a series of positions for the chaise lounge 100 where the angle θ becomes increasingly larger. The angle θ may be adjusted by manipulating a lever (not shown) that forces a plate having starburst indentations to disengage from a matching plate whose facing surfaces interface with the starburst indentations. The disengagement allows the armrest 140 to rotate in the θ direction. Once the desired position is reached, the lever is released to allow the plate and matching plate to re-engage.
In this conventional chaise lounge/arm rest system, the vertical brace 144 must always be deployed to support the end of the arm rest 140. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, when the arm rest 140 extends in a direction normal to the plane of the back support 110 (Φ=0), the vertical brace 144 engages the top of the seat support 120. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, when the arm rest 140 is positioned in a direction parallel to the plane of the back support 110 (Φ=90), the vertical brace 144 engages the surface that is supporting the chaise lounge 100.
The vertical brace 144 has a telescoping adjustment so that regardless of the (θ, Φ) position of the arm rest 140 the end of the arm rest is always supported by the vertical brace 144 that is in contact with either the chaise lounge 100 or the surface that supports the chaise lounge 100.
Consequently, with Zegeer's chaise lounge 100, each time that it becomes desirable or necessary to reposition any one of the armrests 140, up to three separate manual adjustments must be made to the armrest 140 or to the securing device 142. For example, if a change in the angular position Φ or a change in the vertical position along the back support 110 is desired, the securing device 142 must be loosened, repositioned in the desired location, and tightened. If a change in the angular position θ is desired, the mechanism on the securing device 142 that provides for this movement must be loosened, the armrest 140 repositioned, and the mechanism tightened. Any time that the vertical position of the armrest 140 is changed, and in some cases when the angular position Φ of the armrest is changed, the telescoping adjustment of the vertical brace 144 must be loosened, adjusted for length, and tightened.
Sunbathers are concerned about obtaining uniform exposure to the sun's rays. While this is obtainable with the chaise lounge 100 described above, in practice this would prove inconvenient, since as the sun moves across the sky continuous adjustment of the armrests 140 may be required to prevent the armrests and/or the sunbather's arms from casting shadows on the sunbather. Sunbathers will also frequently change position to alternately expose the dorsal and ventral portions of their bodies. Furthermore, any person who uses the chaise lounge 100 can be expected to frequently change their sitting/reclining/lounging position to find the optimal comfort setting.
Thus, it is desirable to quickly and easily reposition the armrests to provide support to the arms if the position of a person's body on the chaise lounge 100 is changed. Performing up to six manually intensive adjustments each time a shift in the position of the arm rests 140 is desired may be inconvenient.
Furthermore, because the right side 110R and the left side 110L of the back support 110 must remain clear of obstructions in order for the securing device 142 to be vertically adjustable along the right and left sides of the back support, the body supporting material 160 will have an increased tendency to stretch and sag between the back support because it is only attached to the portions of the back support that are parallel to the ground. More effective support could be provided if the body supporting material 160 was also attached to the right side 110R and left side 110L of the back support 110.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other disadvantages of the conventional art described above.